


Rejection, obviously, requires some reason as to why it happened

by pyre_limits



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Banter, Confessions, Drinking, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Misunderstandings, Rejection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 17:39:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17585333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyre_limits/pseuds/pyre_limits
Summary: Sitting in the saloon and pretending everything is fine, you think and then maybe get a little upset as to why your best friend didn't accept your flowers earlier.AU where Shane says no to the player because of his own self-doubt. And the player is just confused because they aren't some struggling farmer anymore.Rated T for adult language.





	Rejection, obviously, requires some reason as to why it happened

**Author's Note:**

> So I found this in my docs and it's not like poetic or groundbreaking but I like it anyway.

It was because you had been rejected earlier today by the man sitting across from you. Or it was because you had finished planting your first round of crops. Whatever it was: you were drinking more alcohol than you usually did. And you were more than keeping up with Shane for once, having four and a half drinks to outdo his two. The warmth of the summer air and threat of mosquitoes made beer taste better.

"Mm. My opinion is that Buzz and Woody make a cute couple, okay? Don't get mad at me for it though because I don't like it when you're mad at me."

Shane glanced up from his drink, "Oh, yeah?" He was grinning at you like you were a toddler speaking gibberish.

His inability to commit to this conversation was the most obnoxious thing in the saloon right now. You managed to slur your way through your anger, "YES. When you're mad at me your nose scrunches up and. Never mind I like it when you're mad because then it's like, 'okay what can I do to help' and then I make you a pizza. Or like that one time when you peed in the snow outside of the Mayor's-"

Shane hastily covered your mouth, "Hun, Lewis is right there. Let's keep the volume down a bit, alright?"

You nodded, real slow, and he removed his hand. Your giggle made him look down and confirm his suspicions that yes, you had licked his palm.

Wiping his damp hand on his pants leg, Shane narrowed his eyes at you with fake menace in his voice, "Watch it, stupid. I've got half a mind to finish that beer for you."

You weren't listening. You were, not for the first time, noticing how perfect his jawline was. And his strong dark brows, straight nose, and even his stubble was something out of a magazine.

And he needed to know. "Shane, I gotta tell you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen. and I was serious when I gave you that bouquet and- okay hang on. there's like a weird glow lighting thing that makes it look like you have one big nostril right in the middle. I have to say it is distracting. Anyway, you work so hard at Joja and they don’t deserve you and your perfect ass. Face. I meant to say face, oops."

Shane blinked. Finished his drink. Called over something to Gus about "don't serve the farmer this much" and "sometimes drunk people say too much" and “put it on my tab." Got up from his bar seat and lifted you from yours.

“Let’s get you home, hun.”

The walk home with Shane was a sobering one. You had thought about when you gave Shane the bouquet this afternoon and how it still didn’t make any sense. You were finding that rejection with no acknowledgement stung. And the alcohol sloshing in your stomach didn’t help you forget. You were confused about what you did wrong.

\---

 

_You were buying your summer seeds when Pierre started coughing. He was pointing towards some flowers in his display window and wiggling his brows. After assuring you that he didn’t need a glass of water, Pierre was eager to get some gossip about you and Shane._

_"How is your man's therapy going? Marnie says that you've been nothing but good to him since you came here."_

_Feeling your face get warm you started fake coughing, and nodded when Pierre offered you a glass of water. Making sure he had actually gone into the back, you scooped your seeds and the bouquet into your bag. You left far too much gold to pay for the seeds and flowers on the counter. And then you dashed out of the General Store. You thought that some hush money would keep this from the rumor mill (Pierre’s wife) for a day or two._

_Planting your seeds was not an easy task that day. You knew you wanted a three by six section for the melons. Plus almost a quarter of the field for the blueberries. And a small section for amaranth and corn, it was all quite laid out._

_But all you could think about was Shane blushing and putting his arms around you. He had been dropping hints that he values your friendship and you were reading into it a little much. And every time he called you “hun” it turned you into a blushing overheated mess. That couldn’t be platonic, right?_

_Analyzing it, you knew that it could go either way, but you were an optimist ever since you left the city and moved here. If it doesn’t work it doesn’t work, and you could always throw yourself into your farm if he said no. But he wouldn’t say no._

_Grinning from ear to ear, you hurried through your chores so you could finish in time to catch the end of his shift. You imagined he would say yes because you were tallying it up. One, you remembered catching him staring several times at the Saloon. Two, at the Flower Festival you two sat near each other and he was on edge the entire time. Three, it seemed like there was always something he wanted to say but couldn’t._

_Shane had always had a confidence issue._

_Well, today you would do the work for him. Today you were going to declare your attentions towards him and shower him in kisses. Like he deserved._

_You propped yourself on the bridge a little ways away from those blue double doors. You looked out at the river to calm your nerves. When you heard his telltale footsteps you sprang into action. You turned and clutched the flowers with white knuckles. You held the bouquet in your hands and presented it to him, extending your arm with the bouquet. Reaching out to him as if it were a bridge. Here are my feelings, Shane, won’t you cross over to my side?_

_“Hey. These are for you.” What a lame way to say it._

_You saw him freeze and stare at the flowers. Your grip on the stems tightened even more as you saw him scoffing, he didn’t have to be rude about it-_

_“Whew,” he said, laughing and generally being an ass, “that’s hilarious, kid. You and me? The farmer and the drunk.” He cut himself off with his own laughter. You somehow managed to turn your dejected look into a happy one, hoping he wouldn’t look at your expression. He swung his burly arm around your shoulders. You stuffed the flowers into your backpack, and he said, “let’s go get hammered. Mondays are perfect for drinking.”_

_You swallowed a dry knot and joked, “Says the recovering alcoholic.” You planned on burning those flowers when you got home. Fuck you, Shane. We'd be magical together._

\---

 

 

Honestly, the more you thought about it, the angrier you got. Shane shouldn’t have made fun of you like that. He wasn’t out of your league or anything! You were both hardworking, and you had expanded your coops recently. Even the local old fart George had complimented you for clearing away the wilderness. And it wasn’t fair because you were starting out still. Shane may work every day but so did you! You weren’t clocking in for a day job anymore but that didn’t mean you were some hippie with no savings account. No offense to hippies.

“Shane?”

He grunted. You two weren’t that far from the saloon. You had only passed the doctor’s office. Still, there was no one around and to you that meant you were free to confront him.

“I work every day on my farm.”

You saw him look over in the dim streetlight, and after the pause he said dryly, “Yeah, I’ve never doubted that part. You’re covered in dirt like all the time.”

“Okay, then so if you agree you have to date me.” You took off your bag and laid it on the ground and pulled out the crumpled bouquet. He stood there as you thrust it into his arms, and looked at your determined expression with confusion.

“Now don’t say anything until I finish, and then I’m walking myself home, we’re already halfway there. And no, I’m not that drunk,” you said at his skeptical brow. “I talk more when I drink and I have several facts I want to share. I work hard. I’ve only been here a year and I’ve cut down so many trees I’ve lost all my baby fat. And I’ve got cows and goats and chickens and ducks and a dog and they all rely on me to feed them everyday. Before you even bring in my crops to the equation I’m the highest earning member in this community. So there’s no doubt when it comes to what I’ve done. And plus I’ve got those sprites that I’m helping out except they want this red cabbage and I don’t even know where to get it.

“Anyway I know you think I was given this farm so it doesn’t count. But let me tell you that I actually had to buy some of the land ownership rights from my cousins. And then repay the loans I took out.

“So when I handed you that bouquet I wasn’t doing it for a joke, or on a whim. I was doing it because I have feelings for you! I never found anyone in the city that cared about anything outside those tall buildings. Not care for real, I mean. And there’s no one in this town who knows what it’s like to walk by a homeless person and offer them nothing when you have everything.” You noticed that you were crying, but you kept going, “I thought you cared about me and not the jokes I tell. I want to be more than a funny drinking buddy. I don’t want to smile all time. I want to hold you, dammit! I want-” but your vomit replaced your words. You held your own hair out of your face as your sick fell onto the ground next to the crushed flowers. When had Shane dropped those…?

Shane spoke up as you recovered, “Look, you’re the one that’s in a different league. You don’t want me. I’m-”

You looked up from your pool of vomit on the path, glaring at him. He shut up.

“Goodnight, Shane.”

And you turned to walk away like you had said you would.

And then he grabbed you.

And you didn’t want to be grabbed at the moment, but your strength was gone. Your scowl didn’t seem to loosen his grip on your forearm, so you tried to look menacing. Well, as menacing as you could considering you emptied your stomach on the street below.

Shane cleared his throat, “You’re drunk but please listen to my own speech as best you can, okay?” With a small nod from you he continued, “I don’t like myself very much. I lash out for no reason, I have no ambitions anymore. Until half a year ago I was using money that should have gone to Jas’s college fund on beer and whiskey. Those are all unforgivable things to me and I guess I thought it was some joke that you're... attracted to me. The idea that I rejected you because you don’t work hard is laughable. You’re the best person I know, and even this… confessing thing is hard because I’m not a natural communicator. I’ve had this stupid crush on you since the Flower Festival and- fuck this is a mess,” he cut himself off.

You sniffled and lurched forward, pulling him into a bear hug. Snuggling your head into the crook of his shoulder, you chuckled, “You’re an idiot. You work so hard for Jas. That job sucks,” here you gripped his shoulders and looked dead into his eyes, “that job really sucks, Shane. But you do it anyway and I see that. I see you.”

He blinked. Looked down at the flowers that were tinged with vomit. Pulled you close again, “Is it too late to accept?”

“Whaaaaaaaat? Of course not, I like you, dude. You are so stupid. None of what you said made any sense.”

“None of what I said made any sense? You’re the one who talked about cabbages and red Sprite.” He squinted and mumbled almost to himself, “I guess it’s my fault we couldn’t do this with you being sober, huh? You're too good to me.” He took your hand and started directing you down the path toward your farm.

You rolled your eyes and scoffed, “It’s better for you that I’m not completely. I’m not focusing on how angry I could be. I’m drunk so we resolved this fast. Yeesh, I was so embarrassed because I was thinking about giving Pierre more hush money to keep Caroline from finding out you said no-”

“Wait. ‘More hush money’? What does that even mean?”

“Well he sent me about seven advertisements in the past season about bouquets. And he kept asking me when I was going to get serious with you. Half of it is sales, the other half is genuine interest. This is a small town, after all.”

“Fuck.”

“And we’ll need hush money for anyone who overheard us at the saloon like thirty minutes ago. I wasn’t exactly quiet.”

“Fuck.”

“And with some negotiating I’m sure we can make sure no one connects the vomit and flowers back to us.”

“Oh, fuck.”

You two strolled past the lampposts in town, and you saw little clouds of bugs swarming in the pools of light. Swinging your intertwined hands, you continued on, taking a casual tone. “Of course, if I made an honest man out of you there would be no gossip. We could elope and that would stop it all.”

You let that half-proposal hang in the air; it was a test to see if he would take you seriously this time. And you were serious. What you felt was more than a crush: you genuinely wanted a life with him on your farm. He could make you laugh harder than anyone and you knew that even if his depression got worse you wanted to be in his life. You wanted it all. You wanted him. Courtesy said “date first, marry second” but that didn’t mean Shane couldn’t learn your plans right off the bat.

The silence stuck even as you walked past the fences and the bus stop. You weren’t nervous anymore. The answer was yes, he had to get past his own self-doubt first to consider your offers. If he said no... then you didn’t know him as well as you thought you had.

He cleared his throat and spoke up, “There’s a gridball game tomorrow, and I had meant to ask you to come with me. I have the tickets and everything. Will you meet me at the bus around 4pm?”

“Ye.”

“C’mon.”

“Huh?”

“We talked through some shit like adults. Don’t just. I don’t know, but don’t just casually agree to something like it’s not a big deal.”

“Oh. Okay.”

He let out a sigh, “Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s okay. You’re kind of right.”

“Well-”

“No, I mean. It was kind of me brushing it off.” You paused. “After our little soapbox moments I should have thought about it more instead of a 'ye.' So I hear where you’re coming from.”

Shane didn’t respond. He brought your hand that was still clasped in his to his lips, and didn’t so much place a kiss as press his lips to the back of your hand. But you blushed all the same, either from the scruffiness of his beard or the smoothness of his mouth. Both. It’s very likely that you blushed from both. You could have sworn you heard a muttered “thank you” before he let the hands return to dangling between you two.

You walked the rest of the way in silence. And it wasn’t a long walk. You two arrived at your little one-story cottage faster than you would have liked.

You cleared your throat and joked, “Well, this is me.”

Shane grunted.

You were very self-aware of the situation. What if he tried to kiss you or something? Not that you guys were even together or anything but wow it could happen? It wasn’t anything other than you two hanging out at the saloon but what if it had become a date when he walked you home? You couldn't remember your last serious relationship? There was no one quite like the man in front of you. And in the cool brightness from your porchlight you hoped he couldn’t notice how fidget-ey you became.

He grunted and sighed, “You’re probably overthinking this like I am.” And then he pulled you into another embrace.

Being held was… nice.

And you melted into his arms. He smelled like detergent and smoke. The strength surrounding you made you feel safe and cared for.

You pulled back, smiling in an embarrassingly big way, “See you tomorrow, Shane-muffin.”

With a groan, he started walking backwards on the path you made that headed to Marnie’s. “That is not a committee-approved nickname, hun.”

“Is the committee willing to budge on this one?”

“The committee is not.”

“Tell the committee that the farmer is willing to trade an entire summer’s worth of peppers for approval on that and various other pet names.”

“...The committee will think on that one overnight.”

“Goodnight, Shane.”

“Goodnight, stupid. I'll see you tomorrow.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I hope you thought it was cute, because I sure did. At least the banter parts. My attempts at humor are still in the works, but I had fun writing it :)
> 
> Also ignore the fact that Lewis is never in the Saloon on Mondays. Within this story he is having a rough day lol


End file.
